Battle of Hatvan

Battle of Hatvan
Part of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Date 2 April 1849 Location around and in Hatvan, Kingdom of Hungary Result Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Hungarian Revolutionary Army Polish Legion	Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
András Gáspár  Ernő Poeltenberg Józef Wysocki	Franz Schlik
Strength
Total: 14,563 men -VII. corps: 8622 -Detached units of the III. corps: 5941 56 cannons	11,000 men 40 cannons
Casualties and losses
20 men	Total: 202 men -48 dead -49 wounded -85 missing and prisoner

The Battle of Hatvan was the first battle in the Spring Campaign of the Hungarian War of Independence from 1848–1849, fought on 2 April 1849 between the Habsburg Empire and the Hungarian Revolutionary Army. This battle was the start of the Hungarian offensive, which had the purpose to liberate the Central and Western parts, and the capital of Hungary, occupied by imperial forces. The Austrian force were led by General Franz Schlik, while the Hungarians were led by Colonel András Gáspár, and lieutenant-colonel Ernő Poeltenberg. In the Hungarian army fought also the Polish Legion under the lead of Colonel Józef Wysocki. The Hungarians were victorious, and advanced towards the Hungarian capitals, Buda and Pest.

After the Battle of Kápolna in 26–27 February 1849, the commander of the Austrian imperial forces Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, taught that he destroyed the Hungarian revolutionary forces once and for all. He wrote on 3 March in his report sent to the imperial court in Olmütz, that: "I smashed the rebel hordes, and I will be in a few days in Debrecen (the temporary capital of Hungary)". Despite of this he did not attacked the Hungarian forces, because he did not got any reliable informations about the number of the Hungarian forces in the case if he would cross the Tisza river. But because of his alertness he lost the opportunity to win the war. While he was thinking of attacking or not, the Hungarian commanders who were discontented with the disappointing performance of Lieutenant General Henryk Dembiński as high commander of the Hungarian forces, accusing him because the loss of the Battle of Kápolna, started a "rebellion", making a meeting in Tiszafüred, which forced the Government Commissioner Bertalan Szemere to depose the Polish general and put Artúr Görgei instead. This infuriated Lajos Kossuth, the President of the National Defense Committee (interim government of Hungary), wanting to execute Görgei for rebellion. Finally he was forced by the support of the Hungarian generals for Görgei, to renounce to his plan, and accept the deposition of Dembiński. But Kossuth's antipathy towards Görgei prevented him to accept the decision of Szemere, but he named Lieutenant General Antal Vetter as high commander instead. But Vetter got ill on 28 March, so after two days Kossuth was forced to name Görgei as temporary high commander of the Hungarian main forces. These days and weeks of unrest, uncertainty and changes, could be an excellent opportunity for Windisch-Grätz to cross the Tisza river and defeat the Hungarian army once and for all. But the Austrian field-marshall, paralyzed by an increasing fear of a Hungarian attack, instead of attacking, tried to inform himself about the numbers and strength of the Hungarian armies which were on the Eastern bank of the Tisza river, but his spies were unsuccessful in obtaining any information. Because of this he scattered his troops to prevent a bypass attack from the north, which he feared, will relieve the imperial siege against the fortress of Komárom, which could cut his support lines.

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